Wednesday, 2 March 2016

The concept of feel is one of the hardest to grasp
in dealing with horsemanship. Almost
every clinician refers to feel. They
often combine it with terms like timing,
lightness, connection, trust etc.

When I first became acquainted with horses I had no
idea what I was getting into. I relied
on what other horse owners told me assuming they had experience and advice
which would work for me. WHAT A
MISTAKE. When I learned the advice
didn`t work I went looking and found clinicians, their books and dvd`s. The terms FEEL AND TIMING kept being used and
it took me at least 4 years to understand what they were talking about.

This is a
quote from Ray Hunt.

“You want your body and his body
to become one.

This is our goal.

It takes some physical pressure
naturally, to start with, but you keep doing less and less physical and more
and more mental. Pretty soon, it’s just a feel following a feel, whether
it comes today, tomorrow or next year.

So one little thing falls into
line, into place.

I wish it would all fall into
place right now for you, but it doesn’t because it has to become a way of life.

It’s a way you think.

It’s a way you live.

You
can’t make any of this happen, but you can let it happen by working at it.” - Ray Hunt.

It is those last three lines that
have so much meaning.

In this picture you can see the development of
focus, energy, intent and feel of the horse and rider coming together.

It is import to understand the fundamentals of horse behavior and I thank Dr. Robert Miller for everything he has provided to the
horse world. This understanding has to
be combined with developing your own self awareness. If you aren`t aware of your own state of mind
you will never establish effective communication with your horse.
You need to practice three things, patience, observation and humility. You are not superior to the horse but you can be a partner to the horse. Understanding one horse does not mean you understand all horses. You must be willing to learn from the horse and to shape what the horse teaches you to develop communication, productive behaviour and an effective partnership. There must be connection between the horse and human based on trust and respect.

I learned that it can take a long time to earn the
level of trust needed to build that partnership. It is also important to know that you have to
strengthen that partnership every time you are with your horse. The partnership takes years to build and it
can be damaged in minutes. When you have
that partnership, trust and confidence in each other anything is possible.

There are many things to learn in the equestrian
sports and there are dozens of competent professional clinicians and trainers
you can work with. To be a horseman,
however, is a commitment to way of life that incorporates the concept of
partnership and it is a vital part of any program you will undertake.

A special thank you to my friend from Louisiana who
generously provided the photographs.

Friday, 8 January 2016

Clinicians each have their own methods for
developing communication, trust and respect with horses which ultimately leads
to a desired partnership and a required performance level. These methods are probably best demonstrated
in the starting process.

Like humans, horses are individuals with different
temperaments, characteristics and quirks so it is unlikely that any one
consistent method will work with every horse.
It is reasonable to expect then that clinicians make adjustments to
their methods to adapt to the needs of the horse they are working with.

In the 2015 Road to the Horse Competition three
skilled clinicians were each challenged to start two three year old untouched
colts. This gives students of the horse
an exceptional opportunity to observe how different horses respond or react to
a variety of training techniques.
It also shows how the clinicians
adapt their methods to respond to the needs of the different horses.

The great advantage of DVD programs is that you can
review segments to observe all of the subtle differences in the behaviour of
the horses and you can see how the horseman adjust his methods to meet the
needs of the horse. As in all real time
events the adjustments of the horseman are not always successful and they must
make adjustments on the fly.

For me this
program is an absolute treasure of information that I could not possibly obtain
any other way. Without a doubt this is
probably the best program Road to the Horse has presented and I have watched
every one of them many times.

Followers

About Me

I became interested in horses a bit late in life and I am trying to make up for lost time in learning as much as I can from and about them.
This blog is about understanding the nature of the horese and through this knowledge to find better ways to communicate with and become partners with horses.
Val and I got out first horse just over 6years ago. Our plan was to keep the horse at a boarding stable. Six months later we brought him home and added a second horse. Withing 2 years (bitten, kicked and thrown) we knew we need help. We found a portal and entered the world of `natural horsemanship`, and we are still on that journey. It started with Parelli, that led to Dr. Robert M. Miller. Since then we have found more and more pathways to explore.